Hi all.
I am new to all this. Tank is 4 weeks old. We have just added a couple of neons, an upside down catfish and a red lepoed molly. Today we have just seen a small fry in the tank! Do you think the fry got caught in the net at the store?
Also can you help me identify it? It is black in colour has a White head and big black eyes.
What do we do now ? I'll have a look through the forum.

The molly probably gave birth when you didn't know. And the others probably got eaten or there is more hiding around. The male at the fish store probably impregnated the molly before you purchased her.

What can you do with it? You should separate it into it's own tank or move it into a breeding trap type thing if you want a high chance of survival. If not, you can keep it in the tank with the other fish and if their is enough hiding places it might survive, though the odds are low...

It is possible that there was baby fish inside the fish tank at the store and the fish store employee accidently caught it inside the net and put it in the bag and you didn't notice it. But, that's pretty unlikely I think. You'd probably have noticed... When netting out the fish from the bag.

If the molly is a lot skinnier now than when you bought her she probably gave birth in the fish tank.

I assume it's a her because odds are that is where the baby came from. Livebearers give birth to live fry.

Creeky

02-16-2010 05:40 PM

Thanks for the reply. The molly has not changed in size at all, so does that mean we can expect more? Will get a trap tomorrow and see how we get on.

Thanks again

creeky

Austin

02-16-2010 06:03 PM

If she is rather large still she could possibly have more. But it'd be hard to predict when... I don't think you should put her in the trap... just provide lots of hiding places for the babies. Just put the baby fish in so it won't get eaten. :)

Creeky

02-17-2010 12:13 AM

OK thanks, will see how we get on.

Creeky

Creeky

02-17-2010 11:46 AM

1 Attachment(s)

Hi again, See attached photo. I take it is set up right, To me the molly still looks pregnant so have kept her in there.

Any advice or mickey taking welcome!

Regards

Creeky

pretzelsz

02-17-2010 01:53 PM

from what i can tell it isn't pregnant.... she would have a big lack gravid spot after her stomach which she doesn't so you have 1 fry...plus the fry is big so it has been awhile...just my thoughts i have swordtails which are basically mollies.

Austin

02-17-2010 02:00 PM

I don't think she is pregnant and she won't have any more babies. She must have had all her babies and ate all but the one. Is that the baby that is swimming around? I'd let her out of there I don't think she is pregnant anymore. It's very stressful for her to be in that small container for too long! :( Take her out ASAP is my advice!!!

Write down the date she gave birth (when you spotted the baby fry). Though if you bought her a week or two ago, she might have given birth a while ago! But if you can get an estimate of when she gave birth, expect more babies in 4-5 weeks!! give or take a few days.

Your tank looks very nice and well planted. Keep an eye on her stomach. In 4-5 weeks from when she last gave birth, or a bit before that she should start getting really fat! When she does, check on her when you feed your fish and see if she ever suddenly gets really skinny. :p That means it's time to look for babies all in your plants! :p I'm sure many will survive if your tank is as well planted as it looks from that picture! And then you can just catch them or suck them up. It might be harder to find them in the tank than if you kept her in the box and many less might survive, but it's less stressful on the female (and you won't run the risk of killing her!), and trust me with female live bearers giving birth every month or so, you'll have babies coming out of your ears even if only a few survive each batch!

My fish gave birth in my tank before (my platy) and I captured around 20 baby platies, without using a breeding net. Most of them are still alive, and I can already see the eye balls developing in her stomach again! (she's gonna give birth in a week or two I expect) So trust me, you'll have plenty. :)

Also if you don't have a male, she probably still has sperm stored in her body from the males in the fish store. The sperm she has stored will be all used up after a few more batches, so if you want babies after that you'll need a male.

goodluck. :D

Oh, and I read the post above me; and ya the baby does look big. Probably about a week or two old. I noticed mollies have somewhat large fry though compared to platies.

Creeky

02-17-2010 06:32 PM

Thanks for those replies. Very helpful. I have let the poor girl out now, hopefully she will forgive me! Good job you added the bit about storing the sperm as I was getting a bit confused On how she could get pregnant again! I take it I will leave the fry in there until it is a bit bigger? I will also add more hiding places ready for next time.
One last question: do you think I am mistaken and one if the other fish had the babies? Even though I may have missed the eggs as the others are not live Bearers. This is all very new to me so I may have missed them.

Thanks fir the advice it has been very helpful.

Creeky

pretzelsz

02-17-2010 06:37 PM

It's definably a molly. egg layers I have heard they protect the egs so you would notice that. Also keep an eye on the molly for she might get pregnant again.